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In October, 51% of Americans polled expressed an unfavorable opinion of the national health care law, while 34% said they had a favorable opinion, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. The figure is the lowest since the law was passed in 2010. In September, 43% had an unfavorable opinion of the overhaul, and 41% a favorable view.

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The federal government recently proposed changes to the Federal Policy for Protection of Human Subjects, also known as the Common Rule, that would require scientists to get consent before doing research on people, tissues and genetic material, even if samples are anonymized. The comment period is open through Jan. 6, and most so far have been from professionals who oppose the changes. Some say most people do not care what happens to their tissue samples or genetic information, but the opposite is true, writes Rebecca Skloot, author of "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks."

Five of the new levies or tax increases contained in the health care law are expected to directly affect elderly patients, according to this article. One of them, the medical device tax set to take effect in 2013, could result in higher prices for products, posing a burden on seniors who are the most in need of therapeutic technologies.

Siri, the personal assistant on the iPhone 4S, could revolutionize the 911 system as well as provide a boon for mobile health care, according to a GigaOm columnist who points to the technology's ability to comprehend natural language along with its other contextual, search and retrieval features.

Two new surveys of more than 800 seniors found that 84% who voluntarily signed up for the Medicare drug benefit had no problems enrolling, proving critics of the program wrong, write Newt Gingrich and David Merritt in this op-ed piece. To move the plan forward, Medicare should engage its beneficiaries through consumer-centric health plans and keep consumers informed of health care product and service costs, they argue.